Great Sekowan War
The Great Sekowan War was a massive conflict between the Commonwealth of Nations Aliance and the ultra-nationlist government of Tenno Kumiko in the nation of Sekowo. This war was noted to be the first major military operation that has involved all Rothingren monarchs in the Commonwealth Alliance. Fighting lasted until the year 2980 when Empress Kumiko Yukio abdicated the throne of the Empire Magnificent and fled into hiding; the Second Sekowan Empire was disestablished and the Ishida Dyansty returned to power under Emperor Kenji. Backround The roots of the Great Sekowan War can be traced back to the 2920s. At the turn of the century the nation of Sekowo began to turn away from the Ishida monarchy and more towards a liberal, democratic republic. The Ishida Dynasty had been the traditional ruling house of Sekowo for centuries and had ruled over the nations over several periods of economic prosperity; however this could not prevent the rise of anti-monarchy sentiment, paving the way for the position of Emperor to be abolished, and replaced with the office of President. When Sekowo turned towards a republican state, several left-wing political parties began to emerge, establishing a firm liberal state. The Liberal Democratic Party of Sekowo quickly emerged as the leader of this new republican government and quickly grabbed ahold of the Sekowan presidency, along with a majority of seats within parliament. Their new president George Takawa launched an ambitious campaign to rid the nation of royal influences, repealing many laws passed during the old monarchy; Takawa also sought to place much more power to the regions, removing the centuries old powerful central government in the capital. He tagged this with some conservative measures such as tax and spending cuts however for the latter the Liberal Democrats focused mostly on the Defence budget; within a year of Takawa's new government, Defence spending was cut in half, and moved to close down many institutions of the armed forces. The pacifist Liberal Democrats did not know however in doing these cuts and putting into place these measures that they would be angering the old guard of the Sekowo armed forces, who felt that George Takawa's massive scaling down of the military would show Terra that Sekowo had become weak, and vulnerable. Even with the Liberal Democratic controlled Ministry of Defence, certain right-wing influences within the Ministry had been suspected of conspiring against the Takawa government, as rumors of a possible coup began to float around the nation. Such claims though were quickly shot down by Ministry of Defence officials and the rumors labeled as "inherently false". However continious reports coming out of the military circles of Sekowo said otherwise; private comments by General Hidetora Ichimonji of the Sekowo Armed Forces, in which he said the LDP government's stance on the army was "weak", were seen as growing discontent with the government's policy on scaling down military resources. President Takawa and the Liberal Democratic government were outraged at the comments, calling for the general to "apologise for his reckless comments"; the President had even considered firing or jailing the general, a move that was supported by many of the hard line pacifists in the Lib-Dem government. George Takawa eventually decided not to take action against the General, who days after the remarks told the press that he would be a "viable alternative" to the George Takawa, suggesting to the nation he may step into politics to form a coalition against the LDP. The latter proved to become a reality as General Hidetora Ichimonji announced the formation of a new political alliance and faction in opposition to President George Takawa, and the Liberal Democrats; the far-right "Imperial Rule Association" was formed. Led by the leading right wing politicians in the nation at the time and military leaders fed up with Takawa, the I.R.A. pledged to restore "free market capitalism" and the Ishida monarchy. Rise of the Second Empire Shortly following the announcement of the establishment of the Imperial Rule Association, the stock markets of Sekowo went into a period of decreased gains, and loss of money in the system. Record losses and massive loss of value in stocks created a stir of emotions and fear across the nation. The pro-unionist policies of the LDP regime gave the trade-unions much economic power, which meant that they were able to call a mass general strike, which eventually threw the country in chaos. These events coupled with the rising radicalization of Sekowo policies brought on by Hidetora Ichimonji's new right wing political party pushed the Federal Commonwealth into chaos. With the government weakned and large public dissent, the Imperial Rule Association seized this opportunity, and, under the leadership of Yukio Ishida, a claimant to the throne, formed an army with the purpose of restoring the Ishida monarchy. The government of the Federal Commonwealth of Sekowo, still under George Takawa, however were not ready to accept a return to the monarchy, and were certainly not going to accept either an army to form out of the Imperial Rule Association that could overthrow the government. Thus the Third Sekowan Civil War began, which ended quickly with an Ishida loyalist victory and the establishment of the Second Sekowan Empire. The Federal Commonwealth was abolished and Takawa was removed as President of Sekowo. In February 2925 Yukio was crowned as the Emperor of Sekowo and the Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent of Sekowo was created as the successor state to the Federal Commonwealth. The new regime, dominated by Gao-Showans, lacked legitimacy and strength but were able to survive until January 2935 when the nation was plunged into the another civil war, after an Orinco junta left the country divided. The ten year period between the establishment of the Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent of Sekowo and the Orinco junta was marked by the rise of ethnic conflict. The Gao-Showan regime almost the entire time in this period seemed to be in disagreements with the Orinco people and other minorities. The Orinco people could trace their backround hundreds of years and have been credited for establishing the basis for a unified pre-colonial Sekowan culture. Seeing what they saw as an illegitimate government they conducted a coup and set up their own regime, setting up a civil war that would last for nearly 20 years, and set up the stage for the the Great Sekowan War. A coup orchestrated by dissatisfied Orinco army generals seized power in a largely bloodless coup d'etat and divided power among two prominent generals, Michael Laskaris and Theodore Komnenos. Laskaris and Komnenos established a new militarist and Orinco dominated regime out of the coup, dividing power between themselves. Thus came the birth of the The Holy Empires of East and West Sekowo (also known as the Imperial Dominions) where the nation saw Laskaris and Komnenos crowned as the Emperors of their respective Holy Empires. While the main goal of this new regime was to protect minority rghts and depowering the central government, the regime widely discriminated against Gao-Showan people and other ethnicities in the Holy Empire. Dissent and anger grew again within the people leading to a period of "warlordism". One of these warlords, Kallistos Aurelius, launched a conflict against the Holy Empire of West Sekowo and proclaimed himself as the new Emperor. The former ruling Ishida regime and the Ishida dynasty fell into a period of uncertainity following the coup. Tenno Yukio Ishida was captured by the Orinco military forces and later committed suicide, leaving a hole in the Ishida leadership. When the rise of warlords and more conflict arose, the daughter of Tenno Yukio, Kumiko Ishida, rose out of isolation, and called for the formation of a new loyalist army to combat against the Holy Empire. The rise of Kumiko Ishida and the revival of the Ishida loyalists turned the rebellion caused by the warlords into a full fledged civil war. The Eternal Harmony forces led by Kumiko gained victories fast and were able to strategically cut down the power of the Imperial Dominions. The Imperial Dominions seeing defeat called for a ceasefire in the early summer of 2939; an historic conference was held between the Eternal Harmony and Imperial Dominion that resulted in Sekowo being divided once more into two sects with the Junta-ruled Imperial Dominions ruling the north and the Ishida royalists in the South. This ceasefire lasted until the 2940s when the rise of communist parties such as the National Liberation Front in the north threatened the peace; communist paramilitaries secured several strongholds in the North and weakened the government, causing the Eternal Harmony to move towards invade the north, demanding the surrender of the Imperial Dominions. The Imperial Dominions refused and the civil war resumed for another dozen years. The government of the Imperial Dominions collapsed at the end of 2957 due to internal fighting, communist violence, and wars of succession over the throne however the persistence of the communists and their use of hit and run tactics prevented the Eternal Harmony to fully take over the north until 2962 when the Imperial Dominions was annexed by the Eternal Harmony and Empire Magnificent of Sekowo, and the war officially ended, setting in stone the dominance of the Second Sekowo Empire. Destruction of Flight 22 The seemingly endless waves of internal conflicts and coups within the nation of Sekowo worried many nations on the continent of Dovani, including several other international nations. The bordering nations of Greater Hulstria and Lourenne were especially worried about the conflict spreading on and into their border, prompting both nations to beef up security on their respective borders. The legitimacy as well of the new head of the Ishida Dynasty, Kumiko, among monarchist circles also fueled doubt on the stability of the country. When Eternel Harmony military forces shot down an airplane carrying Hulstrian and Luthori nobles in 2939, calls for an international coalition to intervene in Sekowo, and install a new government began to take place. The destruction of Flight 22 on their way to southern Dovani over Eternel Harmony created tense relations between the nations of Sekowo, Hulstria, and Luthori. A Cold War Begins The destruction of Flight 22 caused the deaths of prominent nobles, including the former Crown Commissioner of Hulstria, and other important figures. As noted the destruction created a period of tense relations between the nations and a cold war between the powers began to form for the decades to come. Some within the courts of Luthori and Hulstria called for an immediate retaliation on Eternal Harmony strategic points. The ceasefire between the Imperial Dominions and the Eternal Harmony seemingly put to rest for a short period these tense relations as international nations saw the ceasefire as the step in the right direction for the stabilization of the nation. Yet when the Imperial Dominions began to fall in the 2940s and the Eternal Harmony sought to annex them, suspicions and caution rose about the true intentions of the Eternal Harmony to intervene in the North. Mass military buildup also worried many and fear arose out of the possibility the Eternal Harmony forming an ultra-nationalist, militarist regime out of their conquering of the Imperial Dominions. Nuclear Ambitions In spite of these tensions and constant threat of war, the casus belli for the invasion of Sekowo was provided about a year later, when the Eternal Harmony declared its intention of creating a nuclear arsenal. The Sekowan government employed its top nuclear scientists in the creation of weapons capable of reaching major cities in Greater Hulstria and the Luthori colony of Namviet. The nuclear program received the support of Defence Minister Ambrosios Hiroto Sophocles Theodotus and Foreign Affairs Minister General Yoshiro Haruto Cleitus Silas, and was officially described as a "deterrent" against potential foreign intervention. However, the resurgent military power of the Eternal Harmony after the country's reunification, its aggressive rhetoric, and the threat of nuclear war determined Luthori and Hulstria to consider a preemptive strike against ultra-nationalist Sekowo. An Alliance Builds Against Sekowo Opening Salvos (6 July 2964 - ) - 6 July Luthori navy began bombardment of key installations, communication and transportation systems, and select military targets - fired numerous sea-to-land missiles by submarines and surface ships as well as conventional artillery shells - 7 July Trigunia Naval Infantry invaded small port town of Port Montrouis facing no resistance and suffering no casualties on either side - expanded port facilities and landed 30,000 and 100 armored vehicles by the end of the first day - 7 July Greater Hulstria launches Operation Steel Impetus; first phase of the Sekowo ground invasion begins with victory in the Battle of Jiang Bai in Sekowan region of Bizena. - 8 July Hikala Offensive goes full swing under Operation Steel Impetus; Hulstria victorious in Siege of Masaru. Battle of Sung Wi begins. - 9 July Hulstrian Imperial Marines advance on Bizena industrial city of Heng Xun assembling on the beach before seizing the small town of Port Montrouis in Bizena, Sekowo during Phase I of Operation Black Bear.]] - 10 July Trigunian forces capture Sekowo coast town of Fulcre under Operation Black Bear - 11 July Trigunian forces launch advance on Bizena city of Elaia - 14 July Hulstrian forces advance further in Hikala after fighting in the city of Ryouichi - 17 July Trigunian forces advance into Bizena town of Kazuo and captures an enemy barracks base - August Paramilitary forces who are against the ultra-nationalist government team up with Commonwealth Alliance - August Luthori launches Operation Sudenblitz, starting the second phase of the Sekowo ground invasion in the southern regions - December Sekowo launches full fledged counter-attack against Commonwealth Forces - Spring 2965 Sekowo manages to makes some dents in the armor of the Commonwealt forces but does not push back enough forces to make substantial gains. - Fall 2965 Hulstro-Trigunian forces team up to destroy an army weapons depot in central Bizena that rendered equipment supply slow for Sekowo forces, allowing northern Commonwealth forces to take back some lost ground. Several battles ensue. - 2966 Luthori and southern paramilitary continue to hold their ground in the south - 2966-2969 a period of staemate ensues with battle lines remining little changed; Rutania enters war on the side of the Commonwealth during this time to assist northern forces. - March 2967 The United Badaran Emirates join the war on the side of the Commonwealth, sending troops to help relieve the Luthori forces in southern Sekowo. - Summer 2969 Drania enters the war but with little success; Dranian ships attempting to break blockade destroyed by Luthori Imperial Navy. - Early 2970 Hulstrian and Trigunian forces launch Operation Imperial Storm. - Domestic unrest causes the main party representing Tenno Kumiko to lose central seats within the government, leaving opposition to take them. - Ultra-nationalists call for ceasefire after a period of more firefights and a chance of defeat; talks between the Commonwealth and Ultra-nationalists, led by Kumiko, occur but fail when Tenno Kumiko abdicates the throne and goes into hiding. - The ultra-nationalists representing Tenno Kumiko is kicked out of power and replaced by an interim government, ending the Second Sekowan Empire; Commonwealth forces remain in the nation during this time. - Interim government led by opposition starts peace talks with the Commonwealth nations. - Peace negotiations end in a deadlock as the two parties are unable to reach a consensus; the ceasefire continues for decades, preventing the economic reconstruction of Sekowo Category:Wars, civil wars and conflicts Category:Sekowo Category:Trigunia Category:Luthori Category:History of Dovani Category:Government and politics of Sekowo